Salted Challenge Response Authentication Mechanism (SCRAM) as a GSS-API Mechanism
draft-newman-auth-scram-gs2-01

Abstract

The secure authentication mechanism most widely deployed and used by Internet application protocols is the transmission of clear-text passwords over a channel protected by Transport Layer Security (TLS). There are some significant security concerns with that mechanism, which could be addressed by the use of a challenge response authentication mechanism protected by TLS. Unfortunately, the challenge response mechanisms presently on the standards track all fail to meet requirements necessary for widespread deployment, and have had success only in limited use. This specification describes an authentication mechanism called the Salted Challenge Response Authentication Mechanism (SCRAM), which addresses the security concerns and meets the deployability requirements. When used in combination with TLS or an equivalent security layer, SCRAM could improve the status-quo for application protocol authentication and provide a suitable choice for a mandatory-to-implement mechanism for future application protocol standards. The purpose of this document is to describe the general SCRAM protocol, and how it is used in the GSS-API environment. Through GS2, this makes the protocol available in the SASL environment as well.

Authors

Abhijit Menon-Sen
Alexey Melnikov
Chris Newman

(Note: The e-mail addresses provided for the authors of this Internet-Draft may no longer be valid.)